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Archive for December, 2008

organized religion, confidence game nonpareil

December 28th, 2008

Preface: I was raised in the protestant church and every member of my immediate family (including my wife) is very involved in the Christian church. My brother works as a youth director at a large, well-marketed church.

I have nothing against christians (or muslims) but the idea that so many people believe in a personal god confounds me. The confidence game that is the organized christian church makes the deliberate swindles of mammon, pale in comparison. The “hook” is so well honed that an estmated 70 million people in the US alone describe themselves as “born again”.

I have no issue with the good that the church(es) can do, my gripe is that so many people can’t seem to step back and recognize the ruse.

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let me get this straight ….

December 17th, 2008

Johnny gets pinched stealing a coat from Walmart so he doesn’t freeze to death on the street.

He is immediately locked-up, ultimately given 18 months in jail.

Bernie steals $50 billion, admits it. Posts bail by securing assets that he probably bought with the stolen money and ……. he’s still walking the streets of Manhattan (although admittedly not after 7PM or before 9AM).

I get it?

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I always find the Frank Rich opinions interesting ….

December 15th, 2008

This is about more than the title suggests.“Two Cheers for Rod Blagojevich”

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let’s not forget they are still out there

December 13th, 2008

The foundation of the idea that pre-emptive war is a good idea was born, in part, through the resurgence of the Evangelical movement in conjunction with, and certainly abetting, the neo-conservative crescendo. No small bit of irony in the idea that I thank God these people seem to have been beaten back politically — but only because they elected an idiot who screwed things up so badly… but I digress.

Here is an early 70′s quote from the reverend Jerry Fallwell, “A political leader, as a minister of god, is a revenger to execute wrath upon those who do evil. Our government has the right to use it’s armaments to bring wrath upon those who would do evil ….”

I guess loving thy neighbor, turning the other cheek and God’s love for all fell a bit by the wayside.

By the way, conservative (no pun intended) estimates of the number of Evangelicals in the US is about 22% — this is over 66 million people. I don’t know if love is the answer; But I suspect education certainly might be.

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top of the torrey grade this morning on the way in

December 8th, 2008

You can really see the difference between an iPhone camera and my Nikon (pics below). But I guess that’s the way it is supposed to be.

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